


Tricking Tide

by Somedrunkpirate



Series: The Devil's Death [3]
Category: Inception (2010)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Mythology, Arthur-centric, Death!Arthur, Devil!Eames, M/M, Or Is It?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-23
Updated: 2017-06-23
Packaged: 2018-11-17 23:36:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,697
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11279130
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Somedrunkpirate/pseuds/Somedrunkpirate
Summary: Arthur loves his responsibility. He loves his work. He has no compassion for those who die, because there is no reason to feel, anything other than contentment after a productive day’s work.This changes when there is another start.Everything changes after something happens.





	Tricking Tide

Human lives are small, relatively speaking. They span tiny blips in the sea of eternity, like dreams they melt away into nothingness. 

Arthur has seen millions born and taken as many. Their lives are insignificant individually, but immensely important collectively. 

This means that Arthur takes his job seriously. For Balance, people need to die for others to be born. For Balance and Serenity, Arthur watches, and takes the people whose ends are near and collects their souls. He makes sure everything goes exactly right, to the smallest details. 

Arthur loves this responsibility. He loves his work. 

His work started when it started. Arthur can’t remember anything before the start, and he hasn’t known anything else but the work. 

He has no compassion for those who die, because there is no reason to feel, anything other than contentment after a productive day’s work. 

This changes when there is another start. 

\--

Everything changes after something happens. 

Eternity is hard to chronologically quantify because when one lives forever there is no reason to accept time as something that influences life. So Arthur is sure there has been a time before the new start, but he doesn’t know how they got from Before to Now: this New Eternity. 

The New Eternity is frustrating, and Arthur doesn’t know what he did to deserve this. 

He’s done his work perfectly, kept the balance and the fates organized and well, with a minimum of spontaneous deaths. He even kept the natural disasters in line for a while; there hasn’t been a comet threat in a long time and it’s his efforts that have kept it that way. 

He’s done nothing to deserve any of this. 

Another new thing that comes with the New Eternity are a colorful set of ineffective emotions that distract Arthur from the work. Which is a problem because the new factor within the new eternity interferes with the work too. 

Arthur has done his research, and the new/old entity is the Devil, and according to all the sources, he only exists to annoy the hell out of everyone. 

There is no way to contact this Devil, to find some way to get him to _stop,_ not with something specific, just maybe the whole existing thing. 

Arthur misses the simplicity of Before. 

\--

Arthur meets the Devil for the first time without knowing it. 

He’s on Earth for an assignment, and only when he notices the soul is not there, he feels the warm darkness surrounding the old lady, the sickly shadows that flicker in her dusty apartment. Arthur shivers in the heat, and represses a flinch when there is a knock on the apartment door - Death is not supposed to be apprehensive. What’s wrong with him?

Arthur plans to blink away and back to the comforting normality of his lair when a whine comes from behind the door. So he sighs, and opens the door quietly, prepared with a silver gun to infer death upon all who threaten him; necessary Sudden Deaths are a job perk he needs from time to time. 

But behind the door there is nothing more than a dog, a big dog. No. Arthur opens up the door fully to let the beast in. It’s a Hellhound, dark slick fur with a flaming mane and bright black eyes. And it’s… wagging its tail and grinning at him. The Hellhound, growing into the size of a small pony, nudges his wet nose at Arthur, who then sees the parchment paper clipped around his neck. Arthur takes it from the hound, who yaps cheerfully, before promptly laying down at his feet, whining for a bellyrub. 

Arthur takes a deep breath - reminiscing on how much he misses Before, without Hellhounds and mysterious messages - and then pets the damn beast for a little while, trying to avoid burning his suit into forlorn pieces. When he pulls away, the hound whines again but Arthur ignores him, focusing his attention on the letter in his hands. There is only one sentence inscribed on it. 

_I got here first, darling. Better luck next time._

It’s only then that Arthur remembers the missing soul and he blinks away promptly, wracking his brain for a way to kick the Devil back into where ever he was before he was _here_ , frustrating Arthur to a point of no return. 

Arthur maybe should have stayed for a little while longer, because just after he leaves, the hound stands up and shakes his manes, shivers until it’s not a beast standing there next to the old lady's’ corpse, but a man. A man with a wide grin and sparkling eyes, saying “Oh, darling, we’re going to have so much fun,” to a decidedly empty room. 

\--

Over the course of some time, more souls go missing. 

Over the course of another time, the Hellhound becomes a companion on Arthur’s travels to Earth. He’s always there, wagging his tail, begging for rubs, and with letters addressed to darling, to Arthur. It should annoy Arthur, but he finds the company to be more effective than distracting. More enjoyable than frustrating. It helps that the hound chases daemons to their dark ends; those creatures are always a bother to deal with. 

Arthur manages. 

The Balance stays, well, balanced despite the thievery and after a while Arthur loses his annoyance, loses his interest in the mysteries, and feels the cloak of indifference slowly cast over him again. Just like Before, but now for the first time, he doesn’t want to go back.

He stops taking the Hellhound’s letters, despite its loud protests and whining. Belly rubs aren’t on the menu anymore, and it doesn’t take long for the hound to stop trying. It gives up on being a companion, Arthur only spies him sometimes in the flicker of the shadows when he finds another Soulless Dying. 

Arthur would miss him, would regret his absence, if he could feel anything at all. 

There are rare times where Arthur feels like he’s being followed. Not by the hound, his presence or non-presence feels different than this. It’s been many, many Earth years since the the New Eternity started, and Arthur doesn’t care about a presence following him; it’s not like they could do anything to him. 

\--

This man will die of a heart attack in two hours. 

Arthur waits patiently as he picks up his small daughter from elementary school. They’re alone, they mother’s been taken by Arthur while the daughter was born. Arthur remembers feeling something then, although he doesn’t know why. He doesn’t feel anything now as he watches them play in the park. They do this everyday, Arthur knows. This will be the last time. 

“I don’t know how you do it, darling,” someone says beside him. Arthur doesn’t flinch; he isn’t afraid. 

“Do what?” Arthur asks, without looking away from the father pushing his daughter high up in the air. The swing is her favorite of all time. 

“Cut short their happiness like that,” the man answers. “You could just let him go, let him see how Fay grows up. Fay needs him.” 

“Individual happiness is not relevant to the job,” Arthur answers, it’s a practiced answer, something he’d learned a long time ago. “It’s about the Balance. I’m not cutting anything short, because there is nothing, after. It is how it is.” 

“It’s funny you think that,” the man says, but his tone implies he doesn’t think it hilarious at all. 

One hour left. Arthur sighs and turns toward the stranger. “Who are you?” 

The man smiles, a shining smile. His blue eyes are lies, they are truly black deep inside. “You already know, love, just thought I’d deliver my message in person that’s all.” 

Arthur blinks, and tries to remember how to feel surprised. “You’re the hound, and..” 

“- And the Devil, yes. The one who’s been fucking up your little business for a while. I’d thought you come after me darling, get yourself something to do other than work work work. But no, you lost interest pretty quick. So, this is plan B.” 

Arthur looks away from his lying eyes, something about them makes something stir inside him. “And plan B is?” 

The Devil huffs. “I’m not quite sure, love.” 

It’s quiet for a second; they don’t breathe much. You forget breathing easily when you don’t need too. The only thing interrupting their silence is Fay’s cherubic laughter. 

“I have to do my job, Mr Eames, nothing you say will change that. I don’t even know why you want to change it,” Arthur says finally. He doesn’t know where he got the name from, but it sounds right, it fits him. 

“You know my name,” Eames breathes. “You remembered something.” 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Eames. But you have to go,” Arthur snaps, suddenly wishing he can be far far away from here. But he can’t, he has to do his job. 

Eames snatches his wrist before he can leave either way. “The father is Soulless, love. Fay and his wife should have been dead years ago. He came to me. His life for theirs, his soul for two. I had to make him choose. He chose his daughter.” 

Arthur feels sick suddenly, there are shadows in his mind.“That can’t be true. You can’t make deals about life and death, Eames, that’s now how it works!” 

Eames smiles up at him but it’s a broken smile, and it hurts, it _hurts._ “But you let me, darling. You let her live when I asked. I gave you my name and you remembered.” 

Eames stands up and there are tears in Arthur’s eyes. “Love, darling, you don’t have to kill the father. You can let him live, let them be happy. Let this go.” 

“I can’t, I can’t,” Arthur chokes out, but suddenly the park seems far away, absolved by waves and a beach and Arthur doesn’t know where they are, doesn’t know where this is. 

“Let go, darling, and wake up with me.” 

\--

Arthur breathes in eternity, and wakes up without death. 

Bright blue eyes greet him back to reality; there is no darkness behind them anymore.

There are only tears. Only love. Only happiness. 

Arthur smiles. 

**Author's Note:**

> I didn't tag the twist because I thought it would be more fun this way, I hope it is for you guys :) 
> 
> This series is really becoming a love of mine, I love playing around with the theme. If any of you have an idea for another ficlet in this series, please say so!


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